Bloomberg BusinessWeek, Mar 3, 2014 (III)

choi

Peter Coy, Carol Matlack and Henry Meyer, Ukraine and the New Great Games.
www.businessweek.com/articles/20 ... -many-other-nations

Quote:

"It’s [Ukraine's] as poor as Paraguay and as corrupt as Iran. During the 20th century it was home to a deadly famine under Stalin (the Holomodor, 1933), a historic massacre of Jews (Babi Yar, 1941)

"But Ukraine is also a breadbasket, a natural gas chokepoint, and a nation of 45 million people in a pivotal spot north of the Black Sea. Ukraine matters—to Russia, Europe, the US, and even China. * * * it is a valued pawn in a new version of the Great Game, the 19th century struggle for influence between Russia and Britain [over Central Asia].

"Last year Russia’s state-controlled Gazprom (OGZPY) sold about 160 billion cubic meters of natural gas to Europe—a quarter of European demand—and half of that traveled through a maze of Ukrainian pipelines.

"China looks to Ukraine as a secure source to satisfy its ravenous appetite for food and energy. * * * [also] they agreed to collaborate on infrastructure, finance, high-tech, aviation, and aerospace.

"The US, busy with conflicts from Syria to Afghanistan, regards Ukraine as mainly the EU’s problem. The EU hopes eventually to welcome a stable Ukraine as a member, but not yet.

Note:
(a) summary underneath the title in print: Why the country matters to so many other nations
(b) quotation underneath the title in print: “Ukraine has never faced such a * * * financial catastrophe”
(c) excerpt in the window of print: $30b  Institute of International Finance estimate of aid Ukraine needs this year with no belt-tightening
(d) there is no need to read the rest.

choi

Bruce Einhorn and Bhuma Shrivastava, India Decides Software Is Not Enough.
www.businessweek.com/articles/20 ... -electronics-demand

Quote:

"In 2013 it [India] imported $33.5 billion worth of electronics, from semiconductors to smartphones. That’s more than it spent on any imports except oil and gold. With India’s large and growing middle class * * * By next year, according to market analysts Frost & Sullivan, such imports will top $42 billion.

"The Indian cabinet on Feb. 14 approved plans for two semiconductor manufacturing projects, requiring an investment of $10.2 billion, with IBM, Geneva-based STMicroelectronics, and Israel’s Tower Semiconductor taking part. * * * Only Tower would confirm its interest.

"While some Japanese companies, notably Toshiba, are still in the game, others, including Panasonic, have decided to scale back because building state-of-the-art plants is so expensive. While foreign companies make chips in China successfully, local companies have tried, with little success, to build chip industries from scratch. Shanghai-based Semiconductor Manufacturing International has struggled

Note: summary underneath the title in print: The government allots $10.2 billion to build chip plants